19 Shades of Grey

If your private self and public self met, would they recognize each other?

Social media lets people in where we may not have gone before. Most people have things that they do a little differently at home or on the road, or when they know someone is watching them. Don’t we dress a little differently working from home than when we go to the office? Maybe we eat out of the pot directly instead of using a bowl when dining alone.

In these days of intense visual focus (oh hey, Instagram!), we can orchestrate a sneak peek into our day to day routine as we wish – loads of reality starts like us to watch their “normal day”, right?

What if someone is watching when you haven’t set the stage? Would you eat differently? Exercise more? Go to bed earlier?

Life isn’t all black and white. It’s good to remember that right and wrong aren’t necessarily the right frame up. There are many good things that happen in the grey area when it comes to lifestyle choices, and that grey area can shift depending on the day, time of year, and other factors. What we eat on our birthday may look a little different. That’s part of the fun.

Here are 19 things your public self wishes your private self would consider so you could truly be #BFFs:

Go to bed earlier. How much time do you designate for trying to hide the dark circles under your eyes from lack of sleep? What if that time was used for sleeping instead of applying cover up? Same amount of time. Just used better.

Eat like you care about nutrition most often. Yes, silly, it should (and can!) still taste good to you.

Make intentional choices. Want something you know isn’t the best choice? Figure out how to make it fit into your overall day’s intake.

One nutrient on its own is not the answer.

One food is not a magic bullet to erase other less healthful choices.

Don’t judge others. They have their own journey.

DO be curious. If you don’t know a detail that’s important to you, seek the answer.

You breathe, blink, digest, etc. Manage your choices so the body machine can best do its “thang”.

Knowledge is power. Replace fear with information.

Celebrities aren’t really the best source of health information.

Don’t ask a foot doctor to perform eye surgery (i.e., ask the right expert for the answers you seek)

Drink adequate water daily.

Eat fruits and vegetables daily.

Say thank you.

Learn to cook a new dish.

Every day is a chance to do better. If you “go on sabbatical” from your desired routine, just start again with the next choice you make.

If you choose not to eat a specific food or food group for personal reasons, be sure to cover the nutrients from that group/food in the choices you make.

Don’t have a bad day on social media unless you want that moment to live on “forever”.

Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. Empathy goes a long way in building relationships personally and professionally.

We don’t have to be perfect in our choices to be healthier. We just have to move in the right direction. Perhaps 2019 can be the year you make sure your true self and values shine the way you want them to, whether someone is looking or not.